Posted: Tue, May 23, 2006, 6:37 AM ET (1037 GMT)
A report issued Monday by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) warns that NASA's Deep Space Network (DSN) may not be able to support future NASA missions because of its deteriorating infrastructure. The GAO found serious problems with the DSN, which operates three ground stations around the world to transmit and receive data from a wide range of NASA spacecraft. NASA has deferred $30 million in maintenance work at the three sites since 2002, and GAO investigators said they found evidence of aging, deteriorating equipment as a result. The GAO also found that some NASA projects were investing in their own ground networks because they believed the DSN would not be able to meet their needs. NASA largely concurred with the GAO's assessment, and said it was planning to identify all the short- and long-term requirements for DSN work.

Related Links:

•  Space News article
•  GAO report abstract